A fond farewell for DNWA

It is fitting that the last stop on the tour was at the majestic Imperial Theater in Augusta, GA. This 853 seat theater originally opened in 1918 serving as a vaudeville and silent film theater complete with a Wurlitzer organ before it made the transition into “talkies.” It is a beautiful multi level space ornately decorated after the Imperial in New York, but with touches of southern charm.

For me the most poignant moment of my Imperial tour was when I asked what the theatre was like in under Jim Crow segregation. The Imperial director got a knowing gleam in his eye and suggested the projectionist might take me up the outside entrance.

Theaters like all other institutions in the south were segregated until the late 1960’s, the Imperial was no different. I was taken outside to a separate entrance off a side ally way, and led up a set of broad stairs. This entrance long ago closed to visitors, was like stepping through a porthole back in time. As we climbed higher through the thick musty air I could not help but put myself in the steps of those who had been forced by law to come up this staircase to see a movie. Though I must say the black entrance like the rest of the Imperial was quite nice, complete with it’s own ticket window and upstairs bathroom (something rare in those days), it was still a painful reminder of the reality of our recent past. The balcony was the only place African Americans were allowed to see a movie separated from the white audience by a short wall whose remnants can still be seen today.

When we came back to the main lobby after our trip through history, it was a buzz with audience members coming to see the movie. Black, white, young, old all took their seats on the ground floor, and this I think is a metaphor for the best of race relations today and what the civil rights movement achieved. Here we all were, together but with different life experience, yet willing to come, find common ground, exchange ideas all under the watchful shadow of our past, always there to remind us how close we still are to our unjust history.

The screening was like all the others on the tour, wonderful.

Now that I am back in Brooklyn on to the hustle of work and life, I look back with fondness on my time with the tour. It was my goal to reconnect with the south, and amidst the rebel flags, the Waffle Houses, and the increasingly crowed highways, I found many communities moving forward trying to create the beloved community that Dr. King always envisioned. Though we may still have a long way to go, I am reminded that we have come a long way.

DNWA in Florida…

Driving back into St. Augustine (where I went to college and then after where I spent 5 years making DNWA) was a surreal experience. I was confronted with the hope and dreams of the Civil Rights Movement that took place here and the sometimes painful reality of the situation forty years later. I could not help but see the parallels to independent filmmaking.

Making DNWA was a total act of love requiring years of sacrifice relying on coalitions with diverse people, an ambitious hope built on dreams and a desire to change the world. I think may filmmakers working on issues of human rights and social justice want to make films that can change the world, but sometimes the painful reality of the process can make one feel like no matter how much is achieved, it never quite did enough to change things. When I left St. Augustine four years ago I had a film with an unsure future, and I left a community that had nurtured me but who’s future was just as precarious.

So it was great to come back and see some of the positive changes that have taken place in the community, not that it is totally where it should be but there are signs of hope. It was also great to come back as part of the Southern Tour of Independent Filmmakers, and though I have said it before, no other screenings of the film have been quite the same as on this tour.

The screening at UNF was no different.

Arriving just in the nick of time for the screening I was greeted by the staff at the amazing Performing Arts Center located in sprawling campus at UNF. It was personally rewarding to play in this venue and the crowed lived up to the tour expectations that at this point are quite high. After the screening of the film we engaged in yet another lengthy and intelligent conversation about Civil Rights past and present, the idea of community and responsibility. It was great to have such a wonderful local reception for the film.

Then it was on to Stuart in South Florida. This place was awesome! It was all that one pictures South Florida to be, warm sunshine, palm trees, and retirement communities.

We screened at the Blake Library that hosts an amazing line up of events. The crowd was mostly made up of retired folks who came out in droves to see the film. I was so curious to see what the reaction of would be by a group of people who lived through the time of the events depicted in the film, but especially their reaction to the contemporary section that deals with the white backlash after the movement and the continued cycle of poverty that plagues some communities.

True to form the post screening discussion was off with a bang. The audience was truly engaged and exhibited a wide range of reactions. There were a few touchy moments as divergent viewpoints were expressed, but that is the whole point of these discussions, to create dialogue and a safe place for people to exchange ideas and maybe, just maybe be enlightened in the process.

It ended with one elderly woman standing up and proclaiming in a loud voice “I just loved it! Keep making movies!”

That was the best thing any filmmaker could ever hear.

Afterwards I met a man in his late 90’s who started writing screenplays when he was 85 and has finished three feature length scripts! (a huge accomplishment for a person of any age) His ambitious movies were well thought out and engaging, and I now have some reading to do. He said that he would be so proud and honored if someone stole his ideas, and after he got over that feeling, he would sue them. I love this guy! I left so inspired by this man.

One more stop… Augusta GA

DNWA at Auburn and SC State

As the Dare Not Walk Alone (DNWA) tour has been moving through the south, a national debate about race has been building thanks to the “You lie” outburst by Congressman Joe Wilson during President Obama’s speech to a joint session of Congress.

In addition to being totally disrespectful and bringing dishonor to himself, his state and his party, Joe Wilson has opened a debate that has been brewing in this country since the landslide election of President Obama.

Like most Americans I experienced a feeling of national pride and unity on November 4^th 2008 when Obama was elected president, it was palpable, electric and real. I have never felt that much patriotism and belief in my country as I did that night celebrating with complete strangers in the streets of Brooklyn. My fears of a potential white backlash washed away during the inauguration a few months later, and I started to believe that maybe we had come further than I thought.

Enter Joe Wilson.

Now, no one can say definitively whether Wilson’s comment was race based, but it really doesn’t matter. He has given voice to though who truly do have deep seated racist feelings, and this is what makes it so devastating. We have seen the images of Obama as Hitler, but now we also see him as witch doctor, in “white face” (a clear racial slur) and people questioning everything from his birth to calling him racist in chief. No matter what side of politics one is on, we can all agree that this is not how we should treat someone who has reached this high office.

I have no problem with people disagreeing on issues of policy and engaging in honest debate, that is what makes a democracy work. But this is going well beyond real issues and reveals the dark lingering racism that has plagued this country since its beginning.

Those who want to believe that we solved all our racial problems during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s must rethink how far we have come.

So it is with great pride that we continue to show DNWA and engage in honest discussion with those at our screenings, Auburn and South Carolina State were no different.

Both screenings were attended mostly by students and it is this generation that will truly do the job of changing hearts and minds which is the only way to eradicate the legacy of slavery, segregation and continued bigotry. As stated in the film, “You can pass all the laws you want, but if you don’t change the heart, you don’t change anything.”

In Auburn we screened at the beautiful Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art, that could double for a smaller version of the Getty. After the screening and discussion the students at Auburn decided to start a letter writing campaign to get the city of St. Augustine (where the film takes place) to return the slave market back to its name instead of calling it the flower market.

And at SC State, a historically black college, the student were adamant about being part of the solution and becoming overcomers, believing that no one has written their destiny for them. This screening was also interesting because the film was screened in a planetarium and projected on the round ceiling.

Now on to UNF in Jacksonville, Fl

DNWA in the villes…

The Customs House Museum in Clarksville, TN is yet another great community venue. The museum is partly housed in the original custom house that served as a location to levy taxes on the great amount of tobacco that was grown in the region before it headed out to all parts of the world. Now the Museum holds works of art, a theater and the most amazing interactive children’s exhibit. I must admit I had a good time playing with the huge bubble making toys in the basement.

We had another great screening with a lively Q&A. Joining the discussion was a guest panel that included a history professor and the local head of the NAACP. Both men enlightened the conversation with wit, humor and heart.

Greenville, SC…

As I approached the Peace center I could see a large crowd lining up outside and as I made my way into the theatre I was delighted to see that most of the 400 seats were already taken. The Peace Center’s Nancy Halverson introduced me to the panel that would participate in the post screening discussion. I settled into my seat and watched the whole movie and was glad that I did (most of the time I sneak out for a bit because I have seen it a bazillion times). It was great to hear and see the audience react to the film, but I was totally unprepared for the response when we took the stage as the credits rolled. Through the glare of the spotlight I could see that the entire sold out audience was on their feet, giving the film a standing ovation. It was a huge honor and rather emotional.

Needless to say that the film was well received with the crowd and panel engaged in yet another great discussion.

I can’t see how the experience of showing a film could be any better than it has been on this tour. Every venue and audience has been amazing!

Now on to Auburn, AL

Driving toward Ocean Springs MS, I am reminded how special this tour is. I have been showing the film in festivals and theaters across the country for a while now and it is a huge undertaking to show up on short notice and try to get the word out about a screening. That is what makes the Southern Tour so remarkable because there is a support structure and people who are already passionate about film, and in particular about the films selected for the tour.

One of those people is Eric Zala of The Mary C O’Keefe Cultural Center. He is the nicest guy you could ever meet and the best advocate a filmmaker can hope for, mostly because he is a filmmaker himself (more on that later) but also because he is passionate about the Mary C (as it is known) and about his community.

I arrive at the Mary C after doing two NPR interviews, just in time to do a TV interview for the local news. Eric is on top of it! Knowing how important it is to get the word out, he has organized a host of press to promote the screening.

Eric gives me a tour of the Mary C, and I am impressed by what this arts center is able to accomplish. They have a theatre where they show film, have concerts, plays and a host of other activities, but they also have a recording studio, painting studios, pottery studio with kilns, wood carving studio, gallery and offer a wide range of classes to the community from dance to visual art. All this just a few years after Katrina leveled most of costal Mississippi. The Mary C is a testament to the vitality of this community and to the importance of art in our lives.

So needless to say I was excited to show the film here and be a part of this community, if only for one night.

The place was a buzz as snacks were sold and tickets taken. The converted 1920’s school auditorium at the heart of the Mary C began to fill up, and again I wondered how this film would be received in Mississippi, a place with such a strong Civil Rights history and a place like may others in the south, still wrestling with its segregated past.

My question was answered immediately after the film as we launched into yet another intelligent, and heartfelt discussion about issues raised in the film. The audience was instantly engaged in a passionate dialogue about Civil Rights and continuing social justice. There was even a man in the audience who was a police officer in the St. Augustine area during the 60’s. He shed light on the events of those times and stated unequivocally that the St. Augustine police wore a badge by day and a hood by night. So again, I had the feeling that we could have all happily sat in the theatre discussing these issues all night. But there was free wine in the lobby, so at some point we had to cut it off. The audience members and the conversation lingered on in the lobby until it was clear that the Mary C would have to close for the night.

So we all said our goodbyes and as the last of the stuff was being put away I talked with Eric a bit more. Come to find out he is the director of the cult classic film “Raiders of The Lost Ark Movie” a shot for shot remake of the original film made by Eric and his friends when they were just kids. This film sensation took the youth years to make and is a triumph of independent filmmaking and a great example of a pure creative impulse… truly art for arts sake, not for fame, fortune or glory, but rather something honest. Having read a lot about the film it was truly an honor and an inspiration to meet and talk with Eric.

All in all, it was a perfect night, with a great screening, discussion, and new connections made.

Now on to Clarksville, TN!

Dare Not Walk Alone, first stop on the Southern Tour

Driving east on I-10, that gray unbending line rimmed by tall pine trees, I feel nostalgia set in. It has been a long time since I have been back in the South, having made my home in Brooklyn NY for the last few years. I drive past towns with names made famous in Lucida Williams songs, and I feel proud to still consider myself a Southerner. I am looking forward to the Southern Tour, showing the film in all of these amazing venues, but I’m also excited to connect with the South again… and get some Chick-Fil-A.

The first stop was last night at the Manship Theater in Baton Rouge, LA. Upon entering the Manship, one can’t help but feel like they have just stepped into one of the hallowed halls of a much bigger city’s cultural institution. Maybe it is the impossibly high ceilings and the modern design, complemented by levels of contemporary art but whatever it is, it’s totally impressive.

The theater itself is an intimate 300 seat, half round, multilevel space without a bad seat in the house. As the audience filtered in, I met Dr. Emanuel who would serve as a moderator of our post screening discussion. I liked her instantly. She is the kind of person that instantly makes you feel at ease, and I was happy to have her be a part of the discussion after the film. It can sometimes be a sticky situation to show a film about Civil Rights and the legacy of racism, especially in the South.

As the credits rolled and the post screening discussion began the audience immediately became engaged asking more than the usual questions. The discussion moved around the theater and it was clear that the film had resonated with this well informed audience as everyone stayed seated, and genuinely participated. I had the feeling that we could have sat in the theater all night discussing the issues the film deals with, and that would have been just fine with me. As a filmmaker that is the best you can hope for!

It was a great experience.

In talking with Page of the Manship after as the last of the audience members finally trickled out, she said that it was the best post screening discussion she had ever seen at the theater. In my book that is a success!

Up next The Mary “C” in Ocean City, MS!

Southern Circuit Welcomes Jeremy Dean and "Dare Not Walk Alone"

Southern Arts Federation welcomes Jeremy Dean with his feature documentary film, "Dare Not Walk Alone," to the 2009-2010 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers beginning Thursday, September 10, at the Manship Theatre in Baton Rouge, LA, and concluding on Monday, September 21, at the Imperial Theatre in Augusta, GA. Along the way, the film will also screen in Ocean Springs, MS; Clarksville, TN; Greenville, SC; Auburn, AL; Orangeburg, SC; Jacksonville, FL; and Stuart, FL.

More about Jeremy Dean, "Dare Not Walk Alone" and the tour schedule

Web site for "Dare Not Walk Alone"

Audio interview with Jeremy Dean